Metallic tube-brush.



No. 637,3!4. Patented Nov. 2l, -l899.

A. WILLIS.

METALLIC TUBE BRUSH.

(Application filed May 15, 1899.)

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES ATENT FFICE.

ADDISON WVILLIS, OF BRISTOL, ENGLAND.

METALLIC TUBE-BRUSH.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent N 0. 637,314., dated November 21, 1899.

Application filed May 1 5, 1 B 99.

T0 ctZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADDISON WILLIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bristol, England, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Metallic Brushes for Cleaning Boiler-Tubes and the Like, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to certain improvements in the improved metallic brush for cleaning boiler and other tubes devised and constructed by me. An expansible brush of similar outward appearance has already been used for the purpose in view; but this brush has proved itself faulty in certain respects, and the present invention is devised to overcome these drawbacks. The ordinary brush consisted of three or more segments rigidly attached to the ends of somewhat outwardly projecting steel springs, the other ends of said springs being riveted to a bar or socket attached to the handle of the apparatus. As the segments of the implement were rigidly at-' tached to the said springs, the angle at which they touched the tube in which they were inserted corresponded exactly to the angle of the springs supporting them. Consequently only the upper end of the metallic bristles came intimately into contact with the surface of the tube, and the efficiency of the same was much reduced and undue .wear thrown upon the fore end of the brush. Another practicaldrawback was discovered in the fact that the construction of the conical fore end of the brush left a kind of shoulder between the proj ecting metallic studs or bristles and the casting forming the conical fore end.

In order to make my improvements clear, I have illustrated the same in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a View of the brush regarded from the front, and Fig. 2 represents a section of the same on the line was of Fig. 1.

In the drawings the segments of the brush are denoted by the letters A B 0. Metallic strips or wires E are bedded in a suitable retaining-layer F. Each brush-section is secured to a suitable shaft by a leaf-spring D, which in turn is riveted to the socket G, attached to the handle H. The upper end of Serial No. 716,923. (No model.)

each spring D is joined to its brush-segment by means of a projection d on the said segment entering an aperture in the end of the spring, and the segment and spring are loosely secured together by means of a set-screw e. The lower end of the brush-segment is slotted at D, as shown in the drawings, and the spring D passes through it. The effect of this arrangement is to allow of a considerable play between the brush-segment and its spring, so that when the springs are pressed toward one another and the brush inserted in a tube the segment assumes a position parallel to the walls of the tube and not at an angle thereto, causing the entire scrubbing-surface of the wires or strips E to be in contact with the walls of the tube.

In order to prevent the apparatus from catching when pushed against any angular projection, I form the fore end of each segment with a wedge-shaped curved rib or reinforcement b, on which any projection encountered by the brush in its course will slide, and thus compress the brush end until the following strips F pass within the orifice without being caught by the said projection.

What I claim is 1. In a metallic tube-cleaning brush, segmental metallic brush-pieces with coned segmental heads, spring-blades pivotally con nected to the said segmental brush-pieces, slots in the lower ends of said segmental brush-pieces surrounding the said spring-supports, and curved ribs on the segmental fore end of the saidbrush-pieces.

2. In a metallic tube-cleaning brush in combination the segments A B O the guide-ribs a b c disposed respectively on the curved heads of said segments, metallic brushes E on said segments, and spring-blades D each pivotally connected to the interior of one of the said brush-segments and passing through the slot D in its rear end.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two witnesses.

ADDISON WILLIS. lVituesses:

' HERBERT SEFTON JONES,

GEORGE ALBERT ABRAHAM. 

